Ananasfreak

Poems are created to express what people consider to be meaningful and memorable in their lives. Poems are written in a style that seeks also to be meaningful and memorable.

Many poems make use of recognizable and accepted poetic conventions, though many poems break away from conventions. Familiarity with and understanding of many of the different poetic conventions can help a person to more fully appreciate the meanings and memories that are embedded in a poem.

Poetic Elements

The most common elements found in poetry are rhythm, rhyme, meter, and sound. These elements are what make poetry recognizably different from prose.

The rhythm in a poem comes from the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables and from the number of syllables in a line. Rhythm gives the lines of the poem movement and conveys a musical design.

The basic unit of meter is called a “foot.” Most commonly, a foot consists of two syllables or three syllables. In a two syllable foot, one syllable is stressed and the other is unstressed. In a three syllable foot, generally either the last syllable is stressed or the first one is stressed.

Here are the names and examples of some common meters.

Iambic meter has the two syllable pattern of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. For example: “That time of year thou mayest in me behold.”

Trochaic meter is the opposite of iambic meter. A trochaic foot stresses the first syllable. For example: “Twinkle, twinkle little star.”

Anapestic meter is a three syllable pattern with the third syllable receiving the stress. For example: “And the sound of a voice that is still.”

Dactylic meter is a three syllable pattern where the first syllable is stressed. For example: “This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlock.”

When the meter of a poetic line contains three feet, it is called a trimeter. If the line contains 4 feet, it is called a tetrameter, which is very common. Another common meter is the line that contains 5 feet, called a pentameter. A line with 6 feet is called a hexameter; a line with 7 feet is called a heptameter; and so on.

Putting meter and rhythm together, here is an example of a beautiful line of iambic pentameter from Shakespeare. “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?” By the way, Shakespeare often used iambic pentameter in his plays. Here is an example of trochaic tetrameter. “Tell me not in mournful numbers.” Or think of “Twinkle, twinkle little star.” Here is an example of anapestic trimeter. “And the sound of a voice that is still.”

Rhyme in a poem is the sound pattern produced by the regular repetition of consonant and vowel sounds. Most commonly, lines of a poem will rhyme at the end of the lines. When a rhyme occurs within a single line, it is called an internal rhyme. The sound pattern created by rhyming lines in a poem is called the rhyme scheme. A rhyme scheme is typically denoted with alphabetic letters, such as ABAB, or AABBCC. Not all poems exhibit a rhyme scheme, and those that do not are generally called free verse.

The sound of a poem often is created by the use of alliteration, assonance, or consonance. Alliteration is the most common of the sound elements. Alliteration is a pattern where there is repetition of the first consonant sound in two or more words in a line. Here’s a good example from William Blake. “Tyger, Tyger burning bright.” By the way, that line is also a good example of trochaic tetrameter.

Assonance generally involves the repetition of middle vowel sounds such as the use of “nine” and “white” in a line of poetry. Consonance involves the close repetition of similar consonant sounds following differing vowel sounds, such as the use of “head” and “bird” in a line of a poem.

Poetic Devices

Among the poetic devices commonly found in good poetry are simile, metaphor, and symbols. These devices, when well used, help to create a picture in the mind of the reader.

A simile is a definite and explicit comparison between two objects or concepts, usually linked with the words, “like,” “as,” or “than.” A good simile is often surprising as it links two unlikely things. The simile creates a concrete image. Here’s a great example from Robert Burns. “My love is like a red, red rose.”

A metaphor differs from a simile in that it is an implied comparison between two objects or concepts. A metaphor does not have the linking words that a simile has, and it represents one thing in terms of another. Here’s an example. “My love is a red rose of the heart.” Notice how different this metaphor is from the preceding simile.

Lastly, the poet often uses symbols in their poem. A symbol is a concrete item which represents an idea or feeling. The use of a symbol gives the symbolic item a deeper meaning and creates another type of picture in the reader’s mind. In Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” the forked road represents choices in life and is an easily understood symbol.

Conclusion

Understanding the most common elements and devices used in poetry helps the reader to more greatly appreciate the work of the poet. Understanding the elements and devices also helps the poet to be able to convey their meanings and memories to the reader in wonderful, poetic ways.

A poem is a created work that uses language to express ideas that are meaningful and memorable. Several broad types of poems that have been used throughout history include the epic poem, lyrical poems, dramatic poems,and the various familiar fixed forms such as ballads and sonnets. Epic Poems The oldest poetic form is the epic, sometimes called the heroic poem. An epic poem is a long narrative that concentrates on heroic deeds and events that are significant to a particular culture. Mythology is often expressed in the form of an epic poem. Many epics existed in oral form only and have not survived. Examples of epic poems that have survived in written form include “Gilgamesh,” which was recorded about 2000 B.C. on clay tablets. Much of Greek mythology was recorded as epic poems by numerous authors, including Homer’s “Iliad” and his “Odyssey.” Virgil’s “Aeneid” and Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” are famous epics which cover Roman mythology. Written during the medieval period, “Beowulf” relates numerous Anglo-Saxon legends. More recent examples of popular epic poems include Dante’s “The Divine Comedy,” John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” Lord Byron’s “Don Juan,” Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha,” and Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.” Characteristics of an epic poem include an imposing, significant hero; a vast setting; courageous, even superhuman actions; supernatural forces, such as demons or gods; and an objective point of view surveying the whole story. Lyrical Poems Lyric poetry originally referred to the Greek practice of delivering verse to the accompaniment of the lyre. A lyric poem generally is a short poem, often expressing personal deep feelings, having a musical quality that might be set to music and performed to an audience. Some familiar lyric poets include the Greeks, Sappho and Pindar, and the Romans, Catullus and Horace. During the middle ages the Persian Omar Khayyam wrote memorable lyric verses. During later centuries John Donne, Ben Jonson, John Milton, Robert Burns, Goethe, and Schiller were famous for their lyric poems. The 19th and 20th centuries were filled with lyric poets. Some of the most familiar include Wordsworth, Keats, Byron, Shelley, Tennyson, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, and Robert Frost. Lyric poems typically depend on rhythm and rhyme. Rhythm is often called meter and is composed of several feet or beats. Two syllable feet and three syllable feet are the most common, and a lyric verse normally has a small number of lines, each divided into a recognizable pattern of feet. A verse may contain a definite rhyme pattern or may be left without rhyme and called blank verse. Dramatic Poems Dramatic poetry is meant to be spoken or sung to an audience. It derives from theatrical drama and is generally written in the form of a dialogue or a monologue. Examples of dramatic poetry can be found in Greek tragedies, Indian drama, Chinese opera, and Japanese Noh theatre. Fixed Forms Sonnets, ballads, odes, elegies, epigrams, limericks, and haiku are popular fixed forms of poetry. Each form follows a definite model. The most famous sonnets are those of Shakespeare, also called English sonnets. English sonnets are 14 lines in length and consist of 3 quatrains (four lines) and a couplet (two lines). The rhyme pattern is generally characterized by abab, cdcd, efef, gg. Shakespeare’s lines employ an iambic pentameter rhythm, five two-syllable feet. Another popular sonnet form is the Petrarchan or Italian sonnet, named after Francesco Petrarch. This form also has 14 lines broken into an 8 line octave with a rhyme pattern of abbaabba and a 6 line sestet with a rhyme pattern of xyzxyz. Sonnets are often written about love and affection and employ skillful imagery. Their length allows the poet to create complications in the body of the sonnet and then to resolve the conflicts in the closing lines. A ballad is a form of verse meant to be sung or recited and usually presents a dramatic or exciting episode from real life. The traditional ballad form includes four lines per stanza and, often, a refrain. The four lines in each ballad verse consist of four two-syllable feet in the first and third lines and three two-syllable feet in the second and fourth lines. The rhyme pattern is often abab. An ode is generally a lengthy lyric poem with a serious subject matter, and elevated style, and an elaborate structure. One form is modeled after the Roman poet, Horatio, and uses uniform stanzas and a regular rhythm pattern. The stanzas are often divided into three sections. The first section describes the scene or situation. The second section presents the problem, and the third section presents an insight, a vision, a decision, or a revelation.Elegies are a form of lyric poetry used for mourning a death, reflecting on something sorrowful, or considering something strange or mysterious. Many elegies are set to music. Some paintings are also titled as elegies. Epigrams are usually short poems ending with a twist or a clever, witty point. In the Greek tradition they were inscribed on statues or sanctuaries. In the Roman tradition the epigram became a witty gift given to entertain a patron or a loved one, and not something to be inscribed. In the English tradition the epigram became a witty rhymed couplet with Coleridge, Pope, Dryden, and even Benjamin Franklin becoming its master. Limericks are funny poems often containing hyperbole, puns, and idioms. The last line of the limerick is usually the punch line, a witty conclusion. The form of the limerick consists of five lines, three rhyming each other, and the remaining two lines also rhyming. The rhyme pattern is aabba with lines 1, 2, and 5 containing three two-syllable feet and lines 3 and 4 containing two two-syllable feet. Haiku is a form of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is a 17-syllable verse form which consists of three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. The traditional subject of a haiku is a revealing moment in nature that is conveyed directly to the reader without judgment. One or two words indicate the season of the year to which the Haiku relates. The traditional Haiku is considered complete in itself and is not titled. Conclusion There are a few other identifiable poetic forms in addition to the ones listed above. Certainly, there will be additional forms invented by insightful poets in the future. Understanding and appreciating the many different forms of poetry will help the reader to more greatly appreciate the creative work of the poet.